My wife and I are about to remodel one of our bathrooms, a small 5x7 bathroom with a tub, toilet, vanity.

We know very little about hardware, and we're getting conflicting information and would love to know a bit more.

Tile (floor). We chose a marble tile, however one of the contractors we spoke to said we shouldn't it because it's far too slippery. Is this really something we should be concerned about? Neither my wife and I have ever heard of tiles that are too slippery for the bathroom.

Tub. We can't seem to get a clear answer as to which is better - cast iron or acrylic. We've heard cast iron is too expensive for a guest bedroom, and that acrylic is too soft and flexible...

Any thoughts will help us as we continue to investigate what will ultimately work for our needs.

all wet tile is slippery to some degree but, yes, marble is more slippery. i've never found it to be a reason not to install it in a bathroom. 99% of people step out or a tub onto a bathmat to dry off. i'll call it a non-issue but it is more slippery.

regarding a tub. acrylic.....NO.....cast iron.....if you want but it sucks to install. i'd recommend something along the lines of americast. it has the ridgidity of cast iron without the weight and they last well and are very durable. never had an issue after i installed one.

Tile (floor). We chose a marble tile, however one of the contractors we spoke to said we shouldn't it because it's far too slippery. Is this really something we should be concerned about? Neither my wife and I have ever heard of tiles that are too slippery for the bathroom.

Marble, stone, and tile can be very slippery, but let me ask you this, how often do you walk across a bare floor with wet, bare feet? You will likely be placing at least a bath mat down during use of the tub, if not have area rugs down for general decoration and comfort. On the comfort note, stone and tile tend to be rather cold, so a throw rug to stand on in general would be a good thing. I have seen plenty of marble floors that are just fine in day to day use.

MBeach wrote:

Tub. We can't seem to get a clear answer as to which is better - cast iron or acrylic. We've heard cast iron is too expensive for a guest bedroom, and that acrylic is too soft and flexible...

Cast iron will be the most durable and likely the most expensive route you can go. Expense is relative to your needs, what you want, and lastly, what you want to spend.

Acrylic gives you a lot more design options and colors, however, they are not as durable as cast or even stamped steel. They can chip and scratch easily, and they are certainly cheap enough.

The alternative to both that I just mentioned is enameled stamped steel. These tubs generally last longer and look better than acrylic, but are not as durable as a cast iron tub.

Natural stone floors over wood require 2 layers of plywood with a minimal depth of 1.25". Over 16"OC joists, that's a layer of 3/4" and a layer of 1/2" which has to be properly installed. Then comes the issue of the joists supporting tile at all.

You'll fare well by heading on over to the John Bridge Tile forum where you can get all your questions answered, start a thread of your very own, post pictures and read the extensive library.